Jumbo stunt near Golden Gate Bridge reminds onlookers of 9/11

An air show stunt in which a jumbo jet flew close to the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco sparked anger among some spectators who said it was reminiscent of 9/11.

By Nick Allen in Los Angeles

5:35PM BST 20 Oct 2010

The United Airlines plane made a wide turn before flying low over the iconic bridge during the city's annual Fleet Week air show.

Chris McGinnis, a travel expert watching from a boat in San Francisco Bay, said: "I thought it looked pretty cool but I heard some grumbling among the crowd I was with about it." He said a "minor scuffle" broke out between people who liked it and others who said it reminded them of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

Last year a terror scare was caused when the back-up plane to Air Force One and a fighter jet flew low over New York for a photo opportunity.

A spokesman for the US Federal Aviation Administration said the plane in San Francisco, a Boeing 747-400, was well above the bridge. He blamed the angle at which videos of it were shot for making it appear closer than it actually was.

The spokesman said flight restrictions were in place in the area and that an air traffic controller was directing the plane's altitude.

Megan McCarthy, a spokeswoman for United Airlines, said: "The fly-by was conducted as part of a well-publicised air show and with the utmost consideration to the safety of the public and the aircraft." But in a comment on the San Francisco news website The B.A.T. Thomas Meehan wrote: "As a father who lost a daughter on September 11, 2001 at the WTC, this photo op and stunt rates right up there with the Pentagon photo shoot of Air Force One in NYC. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

"Even after nine years the images of planes as weapons of death and destruction can still evoke pain, terror, and heartbreak."